Suggestion - Status on Friends List

[Khrystina]

It would be cool to be able to set a status for the friends list, like "do not disturb" or "available" or so on and so forth, so that shy friends know that it's okay to ping you, even if you're in an SG base and/ore in a team.

[DreadShinobi]

Love this idea. Other games do the same. /signed

[Ukase]

I think with the team search status, and the options under /ghide, we pretty much have that already. 

It's kind of the opposite of what you're asking for, tho. You want to signal you're free for a message as opposed to choosing to appear offline. 

     

If I want to team, I can select what I'm looking for. If I have no desire to team with unknown pugs, I can select Hide from searches, global chat channels. 
If I only want to team with the SG, I can select the appropriate options. If I don't want to team with anyone, I can select the top one, or all of them. 

It's not exactly what you're talking about, but it's pretty close. 

[GM Impervium]

Suggestions go in the suggestions sub forum, so, moved 😃

[arcane]

10 hours ago, Ukase said:

I think with the team search status, and the options under /ghide, we pretty much have that already. 

It's kind of the opposite of what you're asking for, tho. You want to signal you're free for a message as opposed to choosing to appear offline. 

     

If I want to team, I can select what I'm looking for. If I have no desire to team with unknown pugs, I can select Hide from searches, global chat channels. 
If I only want to team with the SG, I can select the appropriate options. If I don't want to team with anyone, I can select the top one, or all of them. 

It's not exactly what you're talking about, but it's pretty close. 

Not sure what is accomplished by the OP that isn’t accomplished by hide options, yes. If I don’t want to receive tells from certain people, I use those options.

[Khrystina]

33 minutes ago, GM Impervium said:

Suggestions go in the suggestions sub forum, so, moved 😃

 

Thank you 😉

[Khrystina]

24 minutes ago, arcane said:

Not sure what is accomplished by the OP that isn’t accomplished by hide options, yes. If I don’t want to receive tells from certain people, I use those options.

 

All of those options are of the "Don't Bother Me" variety, and they assume that everyone will interpret a lack of "Don't Bother Me" as an invitation to contact.

 

That assumption is incorrect.  I know for a fact - having discussed it with them - that some of my in-game friends are reluctant to ping me if I'm teamed, or in an SG base.  I have told them "If I'm on, ping me - if I'm busy, I'll say so", but still.

I'm suggesting the ability to make a more affirmative declaration of "Feel free to contact me, even though I look busy."

THAT is "what is accomplished by the OP that isn’t accomplished by hide options".

[arcane]

8 minutes ago, Khrystina said:

 

All of those options are of the "Don't Bother Me" variety, and they assume that everyone will interpret a lack of "Don't Bother Me" as an invitation to contact.

 

That assumption is incorrect.  I know for a fact - having discussed it with them - that some of my in-game friends are reluctant to ping me if I'm teamed, or in an SG base.  I have told them "If I'm on, ping me - if I'm busy, I'll say so", but still.

I'm suggesting the ability to make a more affirmative declaration of "Feel free to contact me, even though I look busy."

THAT is "what is accomplished by the OP that isn’t accomplished by hide options".

I bet 20 bucks you play on Everlasting 🙂

[Khrystina]

5 hours ago, arcane said:

I bet 20 bucks you play on Everlasting 🙂

[edit]
I saw two possibilities here, @arcane:

1. You're a friend from Everlasting, saying 'hi' playfully
2. You're a troll

 

I guessed "#1".  I guessed wrong.

Edited February 1, 2022 by Khrystina

[Apparition]

13 minutes ago, arcane said:

I bet 20 bucks you play on Everlasting 🙂

I think that to myself when I read about half the posts on the forums.

[Khrystina]

Not sure what my chosen server has to do with the suggestion, to be honest...

[arcane]

25 minutes ago, Khrystina said:

Not sure what my chosen server has to do with the suggestion, to be honest...

Because there’s an unmistakable easily documented trend that I am apparently the only hopelessly neurotic person in the game that *doesn’t* play on Everlasting. I have suspicions about why that aren’t appropriate to speculate here, but as you can see I’m not the only person to observe the phenomenon.

 

You literally already directly told your friends they can talk to you. If they can’t even after that, I can tell you from personal experience that their best course of action may be to seek treatment for anxiety disorders.

 

The game has an indicator for “Do Not Disturb” in the form of hide, and an indicator for “Feel Free to Talk to Me” in the form of not hiding. The cues you request are already present, your friends are just unfortunately ineffective at interpreting them. Give them hugs and try to tell them once more.

Edited February 1, 2022 by arcane

[Khrystina]

Thank you for your input, @arcane.  Rest assured that your comments have been forwarded to the appropriate departments, where they shall receive all the attention they so richly deserve.

 

[arcane]

5 hours ago, Khrystina said:

Thank you for your input, @arcane.  Rest assured that your comments have been forwarded to the appropriate departments, where they shall receive all the attention they so richly deserve.

 

I’m going to take this as sincere. ❤️

[Khrystina]

5 hours ago, arcane said:

I’m going to take this as sincere. ❤️

 

I'm not surprised.

[Tahliah]

I must be obtuse because I don't get this at all.  If I'm on and see a global friend I want to run with or chat with, I just send a tell.  They then respond that they are on a tf or yay! let's run [whatever] .  If I get back an AFK msg, I just think, gee, they must be . . .erm , AFK.  If I'm in my base doing a respec or doing some building, I'll just ignore tells because I'm busy doing something else.  Most people get that, particularly when I finish and send back a tell saying I was doing a respec or building a new moat.

 

Is this some kind of RP thing?  That's the only reason I can imagine that sending someone ON YOUR GLOBAL FRIENDS LIST a tell would be considered even remotely rude or intrusive. If you don't hear back, just go on about your business (constantly sending tells to the same person who is not answering you would be rude and intrusive even to non-RPers.).

 

Also, your friends (and you) can just "hide" if they (or you) don't want to be bothered.  I don't see any need to add this . . . mostly because I just don't get it.

Edited February 3, 2022 by Tahliah

[Khrystina]

On 2/3/2022 at 2:49 AM, Tahliah said:

I must be obtuse because I don't get this at all.  If I'm on and see a global friend I want to run with or chat with, I just send a tell. 

 

1. Not everyone is comfortable taking that approach. 
2. "Open to walk-ups" is the opposite of "Do Not Disturb", but the absence of a "Do Not Disturb" tag on a toon is not the equivalent of the presence of an "Open to walk-ups" tag on a toon.  There is a middle ground.
3. If you don't see the need for this feature, fine - don't use it (if it gets implemented).

What I don't get is people looking at this request and arguing that it should not be done because they wouldn't use it, even though (obviously) there are some who would.

[AlwaysAPrice]

This seems simple to implement, barring the complication I used to hear that the UI code is in a particularly deplorable state nobody can/wants to work with (this is an old thing I heard, no idea what the state of UI manipulation is in Homecoming). We have statuses already in the form of search comments, we have a friends list. Add a column to the expanded friends list that displays current search comments, done. Until a conventional "status" implementation like that exists though, setting a search comment does provide the same functionality, it's just a matter of educating your friends that the search window is even a thing they can use (I really don't think most players know it is a thing since /lfg makes it pretty obsolete).

[Tahliah]

On 2/23/2022 at 9:15 AM, Khrystina said:

 

1. Not everyone is comfortable taking that approach. 
2. "Open to walk-ups" is the opposite of "Do Not Disturb", but the absence of a "Do Not Disturb" tag on a toon is not the equivalent of the presence of an "Open to walk-ups" tag on a toon.  There is a middle ground.
3. If you don't see the need for this feature, fine - don't use it (if it gets implemented).

What I don't get is people looking at this request and arguing that it should not be done because they wouldn't use it, even though (obviously) there are some who would.

 

Global friends are people you presumably have run with, had fun with, and want to run with again.  Why would you NOT send them a tell if you see them on?  It's not like you are just cold knocking people you don't know, right? I have no idea what an "open to walk-ups" is in this context. If you are on my global friends, you are welcome to send me a tell at any time for any reason.  Particularly if you need help in a particularly diff mish or just want someone to hang out with. 

 

What I don't get is requesting something that is completely unnecessary and that actually undermines the whole idea of a global friends list by adding a layer of "DND," etc. If I'm busy, I'll tell you so and let you know when I will be finished to help out--or more likely, if I'm in an Ouro flashback I can't just drop, I will just switch toons to run with you.  That's what friends do. 

 

I have a feeling this sort of thing already sorts itself out, anyway.  The kind of people who would be upset about a tell from a global friend are unlikely to be (or stay) on the global friends lists of people who are not upset by tells from people on their global friends list.  But you do you.

[Rudra]

@Khrystina, I have to say the ones speaking against this idea make more sense to me. I get what you want to do, that you want your friends to know you are available so they should feel free to contact you. My question is though, what will a friends list "Open to approach" flag accomplish that you telling them that won't? And as you said, you already told them that. I'm sorry, but it sounds like your friends are terminally shy and no flag in the world is going to change that. I'm willing to bet that even if the flag existed, they would still be wondering if you simply forgot to change it and still not contact you.

 

This comment is not to say I am against implementation. Implementing this idea would hurt no one or cause anyone any problems, except for possibly the dev that would have to make the flag and implement it. I'm just saying that if you already told your friends to contact you whenever they want and they don't for fear of bothering you, then not even a flag is likely to fix that.

[Khrystina]

What an interesting discussion this has been  Very educational.

[MTeague]

Honestly, I'd forgotten that a /hide command even existed.

[Tahliah]

2 hours ago, Rudra said:

@Khrystina, I have to say the ones speaking against this idea make more sense to me. I get what you want to do, that you want your friends to know you are available so they should feel free to contact you. My question is though, what will a friends list "Open to approach" flag accomplish that you telling them that won't? And as you said, you already told them that. I'm sorry, but it sounds like your friends are terminally shy and no flag in the world is going to change that. I'm willing to bet that even if the flag existed, they would still be wondering if you simply forgot to change it and still not contact you.

 

This comment is not to say I am against implementation. Implementing this idea would hurt no one or cause anyone any problems, except for possibly the dev that would have to make the flag and implement it. I'm just saying that if you already told your friends to contact you whenever they want and they don't for fear of bothering you, then not even a flag is likely to fix that.

 

 

Heh, have you ever considered running for political office?  I love this stupid idea because I embrace the terminally shy who are basically, not that I'd say it out loud, anti-social and unable to bond with fellow players.  This is not bad;, this is just a thing.  And we must accommodate all the things.  And all the stuff.  Because.

[Tahliah]

1 hour ago, MTeague said:

Honestly, I'd forgotten that a /hide command even existed.

Never use it myself,  but if someone is paranoid about not being seen by their global friends, it's an option that doesn't require devs to come up with some sort of crazy for people who don't want to hear from the people they accepted to their global friends list. All the eye rolls.

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by Tahliah

[Tahliah]

2 hours ago, Khrystina said:

What an interesting discussion this has been  Very educational.

Hmph, now it's educational?  Didn't you just attempt to drop the hammer on me as some kind of blah blah?

 

Oh, right, you did.

 

Personally, I think you didn't use your "bold" text enough. I'm pretty sure that's where your argument failed . . .not on it being a specious and divisive point of view.   All it needed was moar bold!

 

(I win now, right, I have the moar bold, that's the win, right? Right?! Erm, right?!?)